“Even my gynecologist, whose husband worked in the business, warned that I shouldn’t come out with it because of the stigma in Hollywood,” she continued. “So I was very careful.”

Following her stage II breast cancer diagnosis in 2012, Bates didn’t stay quiet for long. She was inspired by singer-songwriter Melissa Etheridge.

“I saw Melissa Etheridge doing a concert and just wailing on her guitar with her bald head, and I thought, ‘Wow, I wanna be her!'” Bates recalled. “So when the breast cancer diagnosis came, I knew I wanted to be honest about it.”

After the breast cancer was discovered, Bates underwent a double mastectomy and had 19 lymph nodes removed.

“I was in a lot of pain for weeks and weeks — and I was very angry,” she said about the surgeries. “It was an awful time.”

Since her double mastectomy, Bates has made the decision not to have reconstructive surgery.

“I’ve joined the ranks of women who are going flat, as they say,” she said. “I don’t have breasts — so why do I have to pretend like I do? That stuff isn’t important. I’m just grateful to have been born at a time when the research made it possible for me to survive. I feel so incredibly lucky to be alive.”

According to the Mayo Clinic, there is no cure for lymphedema, chronic lymphatic disease that results in disfiguring swelling in one or more parts of the body. Treatment focuses on reducing the swelling and controlling the pain.